So, who am I?
Well, to start with, my name is Alexandra McDermott. I was born in Oklahoma, but remember nothing about it . . . my father was an officer in the U.S. Air Force and we moved on to his next assignment before I turned three. In my young life I have already lived on two continents, in five countries, five states and fourteen houses.
It was during the five years of my childhood when we were stationed overseas in Europe that I became fascinated with local food traditions and decided to pursue a career in the food industry.
I studied pastry arts at L’Academie de Cuisine in Maryland, and then culinary arts at George Brown College’s Chef School in Toronto. I also got a certificate in journalism from the University of Massachusetts, began dabbling in photography as a hobby and wrote a historical YA novel. (I’m a fanatical reader, whether it’s cookbooks, literature, travel guides, or history textbooks.)
By the time I had finished my schooling, my culinary aspirations had settled on being a cookbook author, as I would then be able to combine my loves for cooking, writing, photography, history, and travel.
My debut cookbook, Potato Pie and Cherry Pickle, a collection of vintage recipes from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was published on June 28, 2014. It is available for sale on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
Just, a few months later, in August 2014, my family decided to move back to England, where we had previously been stationed for three years. We settled in the lovely riverside village of Bourne End.
Time-Life’s matchless Foods of the World series are the cookbooks that inspire me the most; Nigel Slater is my favourite cookery writer. I love chocolate, Caprese panini, Greek salad, lamb curry, aged cheddar, French baguettes, English butter, saffron pilaf, all forms of ice cream, proper British scones, multigrain bagels and more chocolate.
If you have questions or comments, I would be delighted to hear from you. You can get in touch with me at alexandra.mcd74@hotmail.com.
The Lass In The Apron 
Hi Alexandra! So lovely to hear from you! Well, welcome to Canada 🙂 You’ve probably been here longer than me mind you. You must have such a broad food understanding having lived in all these countries. That’s exactly what I aim to do over the next few years, as we travel, live abroad and explore. I do wonder about doing cook school myself but have no idea what area I would want to specialize in. So neat you are planning to further your cooking education even more. All the best with your cooking, photography and blogging. I look forward to keeping an eye on your site.
Thanks for the welcome! How long have you been in Canada? I’ve only been in Burlington for one month–although I did live here briefly for a few months before (which is why I decided to move back). I feel very lucky to have got to experience so many cultures, and I think that’s the main reason why I got interested in food. And do try to go to cooking school! It doesn’t matter if you don’t know exactly what area you want to specialize in–you’ll learn so much no matter what you study. Oh, and by the way, your Lara Bars look so good.
Thanks for visiting my blog too. You have a lovely blog here with lots of nice fresh bakes. I really enjoyed browsing and even bookmarked some recipes. Have a wonderful week and happy blogging!
Thank you for your kind words, Liz. I’m glad you enjoyed my blog. I’m enjoying yours, too (still browsing). If you do try any of my recipes, please let me know how they turn out! I’m posting a chocolate recipe today, in honor of National Chocolate Week–so it should be a happy week indeed. Have a lovely day.
I did enjoy it very much and I look forward to the chocolate recipe you’ll be posting today. I love chocolate, in all shapes, tastes and sizes. The triple chocolate star cake is amazing too. Best wishes!
I love chocolate in all its forms, too. Hence the triple chocolate star cake. And I just wanted to let you know that I’ve added you to my blogroll. All the best.
Hi. Thank you for the kind comments you made regarding my blog. I really appreciate the positive feedback. So I would like to nominate you for the Dragon’s Loyalty Award. Thank you 🙂 http://boxofrecipes.wordpress.com/2013/11/30/award-number-2-shock-the-dragon-loyalty-award/
Hi Alexandra! I think you have a really great blog and I’d love to nominate you for the Liebster award :). It is totally up to you whether or not you want to participate, but if you’re interested, you can go here for more information: http://dormroombaker.com/2013/12/30/liebster-award/
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